Burmese Sketches - Khamkoo

BURMESE SKETCHES.
moved down from the hills into the plains. They have a
written language of their own, and their books are written
on slips of bamboo. The Taungthas are thus aliens in the
Chin country ; their language is different from that of the
Chinboks. There is no intermarriage between the Taungthas
and the Chinboks, marriage being confined to allied clans or
tribes only. Marriage among near relations is forbidden.
THE ANCIENT PYU OF YAMETHIN.
Sir Frank Gates, k.c.s.i., i.c.s., Commissioner, Meiktila
Division, wrote to me that a brick structure, which the local
people called a Pyu sepulchre, had been lately revealed by a
landslip on the bank of the Nyaunggaing chaung in the
Yam^thin district, which is about 2\ miles from the Nyaunglun
Railway Station, and suggested that I should visit the locality.
I dug on the spot indicated, but found nothing. I also dug
at another place, which is about 400 feet to the south-east
of the landslip. Here, too, no ancient urn was discoverd. A
huge brick was, however, unearthed, which measured i foot
5"^ inches in length, 8J inches in breadth, and 2^ inches in
thickness Not satisfied with the result of my labours, I had a
third brick structure dug into at Kulegyin, which is about 3
miles to the north-east of Nyaunglun. Here, too, my efforts
were fruitless. The locality is, however, redolent of traditions
regarding the Pyu people ; and these sepulchres have apparently
been dug into in former days. The Pyu flourished about
2,000 years ago, and treasure-hunters have had a long time for
carrying on their nefarious work.
The hill ranges near Nyaunglun appear to be the habitat of
the remnants of a great many broken tribes, and to present a
good field for ethnographic studies. The hills have afforded
an asylum to the warring Karens, Taungthus, Shans, Chins,
and Burmans.
The country about Yamethin appears to have been occupied
by a succession of races in the following order ;
(i) The Ba*u, who may be identified with the Taungthus
of the present day. The Taungthus of Thaton call
themselves P'a-o or ancient fathers.
(2) The Pyu, a Tibeto-Burman tribe, which passed through
Ssuch'uan and Yunnan, and which succumbed to
Brahmanical influence at Prome. It shifted its
habitat to Pagan in the 1st century A. D. There
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